The facilitators of this petition believe this issue is very important to the ecological and economical stability of Ithaca as much of the attraction to Ithaca is to our natural areas and the natural beauty of our neighborhoods.

Ithaca is a college town that makes much of its profit by being appealing to student from around the world trash and litter damage that beauty and thus damage our attraction to those students.

Our policy regarding the societal problem is the addition of trash receptacles and cigarette ash cans in key heavily populated areas in Ithaca such as the commons and the college town business district.

There is much statistical evidence of the effect of untreated litter and trash on waterways and natural areas for one example a study conducted by clean Virginia waterways showed that cigarette butts (38% of litter nationwide according to studies preformed at California state university) causes pollution in waterways sufficient to kill small animals necessary to the environment.

In addition cigarette litter comes at a cost to the department of streets and facilities in an estimation made in a similar environment to the Cornell campus Penn state spent 150,000 dollars picking up butts on their 15000-acre campus.

Ithaca cannot afford the time or money necessary to keep our streets clean under current circumstances however there is a way to reduce the amount of litter.
We believe by adding thirty to sixty public trashcans to the residential and business districts of Ithaca there will be a decrease in the amount of trash thrown on the street.

The Polk Gulch neighborhood has very few trash cans while large amounts of garbage remain on the streets and side walks. With many restaurants and bars along Polk Street and lots of tourists from Van Ness Street, lots of trash accumulates in the area.

Along Bush Street, there is not a single trash can in this neighborhood. By placing more garbage cans in the area, the tourists, inhabitants, businesses, children, and pets in the neighborhood would all benefit and the area would appear much cleaner.

"One Hundred Trucks of Toronto's garbage a day could be landing in our own backyard in the not-too-distant future. Walker Environmental Group is making the proposal to Beachville and Centreville residents today. They want to transport as much as 850,000 tonnes of garbage per year to the Carmeuse Lime Quarry in Beachville. The site also borders on the Ingersoll town line."

We have all seen it, that burger, burrito or chicken leg that you ordered at your favorite fast food joint, in many unnecessary layers of packaging. Wrapped in paper, placed inside a box and then put on a tray with a paper liner.

Sanitary concerns are of course a factor, but from kitchen to counter is usually less than 12 feet. If a fast food establishment can have their food contaminated in the few seconds and feet between the kitchen and customer, then they have no reason being in business.

It’s really simple. When we(the consumer) choose to “dine in” at our favorite fast food restaurant, give us the choice to have our meal placed on the already sanitary tray liner and forgo the other wrappers. They are going to be removed and discarded in a few seconds anyway.

The end result for everyone involved. #1 The planet wins with less trash and all the associated environmental costs that go along with it. #2 Fewer trees needed for the raw materials to manufacture these packaging products. #3 Corporate Fast Food Wins with lower operating costs associated with purchasing, transporting, storing and disposing of unnecessary packaging materials.

We are talking about a cumulative elimination of thousands of tons of waste, fuel to transport it and the costs to collect and process it… per year!

We go through 380 billion plastic bags a year. An estimated 5.2% get recycled; in landfills, they could last 1,000 years. Bags are made from oil, and our bag habit costs us 1.6 billion gallons of oil each year. That last statistic, and its link to global warming, is starting to drive change.

The new bags are expensive--they cost between 5 and 10 cents apiece, while plastic costs between 1 and 4 cents. But the big downside to these bags is that they decompose only in a commercial composting facility, which most cities don't have. Within the dry confines of a landfill, compostable bags will act just like plastic, And they don't decompose in ocean water, creating a giant toilet that doesn't flush.

Target bags list 10 ideas for reuse, letting the company lean green by asking customers to do their bit for the earth. Among the suggestions: "tiny trash-can liner" (#1), kitty-litter liner (#8), and tomorrow's lunch bag (#9). There are no incentives to reduce bag use, though; the bags suggest that you're cool if you reuse them.

That's not recycling and how many people actually read the bags?
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/119/moneybags.html

Proper discussion has not been initiated with the town board, town residents, and BOCC, Road & bridge and county manager and forward motion has begun.

The economic feasibility of this HSS site is not fully researched as the BOCC does not know where the trash will be hauled. Depending on this answer, other sites (specifically Kremmling landfill and Fraser Road and Bridge shop could be more feasible).

There are no regulations in place to insure the community's safety. There are no regulations in place should any regulations be violated with the potential for hazardous health and environmental impacts.

We have been unfairly isolated from the planning process with the above departments. The people of this county should have been involved in this important decision effecting all of our lives.

There are documented examples of other communities transfer stations who do not adhere to maintenance of the facility.

Increased carbon footprint due to truck traffic mileage when traveling large distances to and from Hot Sulphur Springs.

This proposal is in direct conflict with the Grand County Master Plan with the Town of Hot Sulphur Springs on issues of preserving agricultural and ranching views on the east end of the town, and joint development with the county within a three mile area of the town.

There will potentially be a negative impact to the water quality due to the close proximity of the waste transfer station to the Colorado River and the source for the Hot Sulphur Springs municipal water plant.

Negative impact on National Scenic Byway, one of few in the state and country

Negative impact to our community is documented in other communities fights against transfer station. They include, visual, odor, noise, traffic, and ground water issues as listed below:

According to the budget, 43 newly civilianized staff that will operate the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) even though though the budget has scaled back funding for public library services, eliminates 19 positions in the Public Health Nursing Program, eliminates the general fund school based program, dental hygiene and reduces the nursing staff by half, budgetary reduction of 1/3 of staff funding, reduction of 25 positions, eliminates 87 direct line positions and accounts. Budget calls for a 4-mill tax hike or a 9 percent increase in taxes. As far as education, 7.4 teaching positions are not funded in the mayor's budget, and 41 new positions could not be filled.

The budget allows to provide sanitation services including garbage collection, bulk trash pickup, leaf removal, and recycling to our residents. Beyond regular trash pickup, these additional services are by no means mandated, and they carry a cost of $6,545,327.

These costs could be reduced if residents would carry the cost of garbage removal.

Plastics are materials made to be thrown away. Only 3-5% of all plastic ever gets recycled. The rest finds its way to the landfill or the ocean.

In the landfill, plastic residues can leach into the groundwater after rain, along with various other chemicals from the trash. This substance, called leachate, is toxic to humans, animals, and many plants.

In the oceans, plastic collects in several places, most notably the North Pacific subtropical gyre, otherwise known as the "Eastern Garbage Patch". This ten million square mile area northwest of Hawai'i is literally six feet deep in plastic, quite possibly more.

Most types of plastic and the various gases they produce are toxic. In fact, the obesity epidemic, rising rates of cancer, and increasing infertility have all been solidly linked to the rising production and consumption of plastics.

Plastics are even now shifting the course of evolution -- of humanity and of animals, such as seabirds and plankton, who come into contact with them. It is arguable that of everything produced by the human race, plastics have had and will continue to have the greatest impact on the environment.

By signing and supporting this petition, you can help to protect our planet and our future.

Star and Timothy Joseph, self proclaimed, Original Haters of the Star and Buc Wild radio show, which is broadcast on multiple stations nationally, has downgraded radio talk since their arrival in early 2000.

Their attempts to capitalize on degrading, racial commentary are not acceptable or entertaining. Our citizens are not niggers, crackers or wetbacks and we should not have to tolerate being classified as niggahs, bitches, hoes, or poor white trash.

The lots of us are diverse, upstanding, intelligent, respectful citizens who are trying to cultivate, unify and elevate our nation as a whole. At 6:00 am when our young scholars are heading to school, Star and Buc Wild are polluting the air waves in an attempt to signify that it is ok to classify people in racial stereotypes and degrade women of all backgrounds.

The message needs to be sent out that no matter what your ethnic background is racism is not acceptable.